Search

A total of 32% of children whose parents have some mental health problems are estimated to be diagnosed with some mental disorder later in life. As a consequence, a need arises to offer preventive psychological interventions aimed at these children. The aims were to investigate whether there are significant changes before and after the KidsTime program. In total, 101 people participated in the program, and pre‐intervention and post‐intervention data on self‐stigma, self‐esteem, resilience, parenting practices and strength and difficulties of thirty‐three parents with mental illness were obtained. Significant pre‐post differences were found in the 'expression of affection' subscale of the parenting practices and in self‐stigma. In the group of parents with a mental illness, the KidsTime program showed improvement of parents' emotional support for their children and a reduction in their self‐stigma as well. Multi‐family interventions are key to improving self‐stigma and parenting skills, and this can lead to prevention of future mental health problems in their children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Negative symptoms (SN) may appear at the beginning of a first-episode psychosis (FEP) and seem to be associated with worse functional results, male gender, long duration of untreated psychosis (DUP), early age-at-oncet in FEP, neurocognitive disorders and traumatic life events. Objectives: Study the prevalence of NS in patients with drug-naive FEP. Describe the association between NS and gender, age-at-onset in FEP, DUP, premorbid functional level, positive and general psychopathology symptoms, depressive symptoms and childhood traumatic experiences. Methods: Cross-sectional study. Drug-naive FEP patients from Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu were included. Sociodemographic variables, the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDS), the Personal and Social Performance scale (PSP) and Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) were administered. Following the Marder model we used the equation: Marder Negative = 5.8548 + (1.0209 * SANS score), to split the sample into NS group (Marder = 9) and non-NS group (Marder < 9). Results: A total of 155 patients (65,2% men and 34,8% women) were included. 58,6% of the patients met criteria for NS. PANSS Positive subscale was inversely associated with negative symptoms (p=0,04). Only gender, PANSS positive and general psychopathology subscales were found to be associated with negative symptoms using the regression analysis. Conclusions: The high prevalence of NS in our sample can be due to the low specificity of the used scales. We found an association between NS and PANSS positive subscale, PANSS general psychopathology subscale and gender. Further studies are needed to improve the conceptualization and evaluation of NS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Persistent Negative Symptoms (PNS) criteria include the presence of prominent negative symptoms (NS), functional impairment, presence of NS during stability periods and its persistence for at least six months. PNS seems to be associated with male gender, long duration of untreated psychosis (DUP), neurocognitive impairments and presence of traumatic life events. Objectives: Study the prevalence of PNS in first-episode psychosis patients (FEP). Describe the association between PNS and gender, age-at-onset in FEP, DUP, functional level, positive symptoms, depressive symptoms, antipsychotic drugs doses and childhood traumatic experiences. Methods: Longitudinal study. Drug-naive FEP patients with NS at the moment of inclusion and maintained at six-month follow-up from Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu were included. Sociodemographic variables, the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDS), the Personal and Social Performance scale (PSP) and Childhood Trauma Questionnaire subscales (CTQ) were administered at sixmonth follow-up. Results: A total of 42 patients (64,3% men and 35,7% women) were included. 47,6% met criteria for PNS. Male gender (p=0,01) and worse PSP score (p=0,02) were associated with PNS. Same variables were found to be associated using the regression analysis. Sexual abuse subscale of CTQ was inversly associated with PNS (p=0,03). Conclusions: As it is found in other publications, worse functional results and male gender seem to be associated with PNS. Controversial results for CTQ are found, maybe due to limited N in our sample, which is the main limitation of the study. Therefore, further studies are needed to improve the conceptualization of SNP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The burden of self-stigma in psychosis has been widely studied, leading to the development and implementation of self-stigma reduction programmes to ameliorate its impact. In order to successfully improve self-stigma in psychosis, we must evaluate the effect of available interventions to help clinicians select the most appropriate approach for their patients. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effect of self-stigma reduction interventions in people with psychosis while considering the interventions' characteristics as an important moderator of their effect. The results from this systematic review suggest that interventions involving more than one component, particularly those combining psychoeducation, social skills training and cognitive approaches, were most effective at reducing self-stigma in people with psychosis. Additionally, shorter interventions were found best reduced self-stigma at post-treatment evaluation. A meta-analysis mirrored these results, finding an overall favourable effect of interventions but high heterogeneity in the sample. Subgroup analyses found larger self-stigma reductions following multi-component interventions compared to single-component interventions. An analysis of risk of bias revealed a trend suggesting studies with lower risk of bias produced smaller effects. The results of this review can inform practitioners select and develop interventions to reduce self-stigma in psychosis., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Purpose: Previous studies have investigated the role of gender in clinical symptoms, social functioning, and neuropsychological performance in people with first-episode psychosis (FEP). However, the evidence of gender differences for metacognition in subjects with FEP is still limited and controversial. The aim of the present study was to explore gender differences in cognitive insight and cognitive biases in this population., Methods: Cross-sectional study was carried out in a sample of 104 patients with FEP (35 females and 69 males) recruited from mental health services. Symptoms were assessed with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, cognitive insight with the Beck Cognitive Insight Scale, and cognitive bias by the Cognitive Biases Questionnaire for Psychosis. The assessment also included clinical and sociodemographic characteristics., Results: After controlling for potential confounders (level of education, marital status, and duration of psychotic illness) analysis of covariance revealed that males presented greater self-reflectiveness (p = 0.004) when compared to females. However, no significant differences were found in self-certainty and composite index of the cognitive insight scale, as in the cognitive biases assessed., Conclusions: Gender was an independent influence factor for self-reflectiveness, being better for males. Self-reflectiveness, if shown to be relatively lacking in women, could contribute to the design of more gender-sensitive and effective psychotherapeutic treatments, as being able to self-reflect predicts to better treatment response in psychosis., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature.)

Purpose: to study sex differences in self-reported symptoms measured with the Scale of Patient-Reported Impact of Symptoms in Schizophrenia (PRISS), to investigated sex differences in the degree of agreements between self-reported symptoms and clinical symptoms assessed by professionals, and to identify which clinical and sociodemographic variables predicted a greater presence of self-reported symptoms split by sex., Methods: 161 patients (37 females; 124 males), aged between 18 and 65 years, with a diagnosis of schizophrenia assisted in non-acute mental health services at four mental health catchment areas in Andalucia and Catalonia were included. The PRISS scale was administered to asses self-reported symptoms., Results: males reported higher presence of excitement, grandiosity, motor retardation and poor attention) than women. There was less agreement in the presence of psychotic symptoms in men than in women when comparing self-reported symptoms and clinical symptoms assessed by professionals. Finally, in men the predictors variables for the greater presence of self-perceived symptoms were greater psychotic symptomatology and more disability, while in women were greater presence of alogia and higher doses of chlorpromazine., Conclusions: Assessing and being aware of the self-perceived symptoms of patients with schizophrenia should be considered in the clinic, especially in men, as there appears to be a lack of agreement on certain items. This would allow treatments to be more focused on patients' need by sex, and would make them feel part of the therapeutic process, improving their therapeutic adherence, evolution and quality of life., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature.)

Social cognition (SC) and executive function (EF) have been described as important variables for social functioning and recovery of patients with psychosis. However, the relationship between SC and EF in first-episode psychosis (FEP) deserves further investigation, especially focusing on gender differences., Aims: To investigate the relationship between EF and different domains of SC in FEP patients and to explore gender differences in the relationship between these domains., Methods: A cross-sectional study of 191 patients with new-onset psychosis recruited from two multicenter clinical trials. A comprehensive cognitive battery was used to assess SC (Hinting Task, Face Test and IPSAQ) and EF (TMT, WSCT, Stroop Test and digit span - WAIS-III). Pearson correlations and linear regression models were performed., Results: A correlation between Theory of Mind (ToM), Emotional Recognition (ER) and EF was found using the complete sample. Separating the sample by gender showed different association profiles between these variables in women and men., Conclusions: A relationship between different domains of SC and EF is found. Moreover, women and men presented distinct association profiles between EF and SC. These results should be considered in order to improve the treatment of FEP patients and designing personalized interventions by gender., (Copyright © 2024 Sociedad Española de Psiquiatría y Salud Mental (SEPSM). Published by Elsevier España S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Aim: To assess whether exposure to childhood traumatic experiences is linked to the inflammatory markers neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in people with a first-episode psychosis., Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed in 83 patients (21 females and 62 males) with a diagnosis of a first psychotic episode. All participants completed the self-reported Spanish version of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). NLR, MLR, and PLR were calculated in each patient., Results: Highest CTQ scores were noted on the emotional neglect and abuse domains (mean ± SD = 10.92 ± 4.41; mean ± SD = 10.93 ± 4.78, respectively), being lowest for the sexual abuse domain (mean ± SD = 6.12 ± 2.41). Backward stepwise linear regressions showed that high emotional neglect significantly predicted increased PLR (β = 0.452, P = .036), older age and high emotional neglect predicted increased NLR (β = 0.483, P = .036; β = 0.442, P = .06, respectively), and high emotional neglect, low physical neglect, high total Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) score, and cannabis and alcohol use predicted increased MLR (β = 0.698, P = .003; β = 0.672, P = .033; β = 0.296, P = .027; β = 0.390, P = .069; β = 0.560, P = .078, respectively)., Conclusions: Our results highlight the relationship between the exposure to emotional neglect and the inflammatory biomarkers NLR, MLR, and PLR in patients with a first-episode psychosis. This study has benefitted from controlling for confounders such as body mass index, smoking status, symptom severity, and alcohol and cannabis use., (© Copyright 2024 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.)

Aim: Therapeutic non-compliance remains the main difficulty for people with psychotic disorders, standing around 50% in people with schizophrenia. Lack of treatment adherence, either partial or total, to medication has economic and clinical consequences. E-health technologies may be a promising therapeutic tool to improve adherence, with the subsequent reduction in clinical and economic burden. Our aims were to know the preferences on how technologies in mental health treatment should be for use in clinical practice, and to learn about the opinion and preferences on the use of technologies in mental health treatment from the perspectives of patients with FEP, their relatives, and mental health professionals., Methods: Forty-one patients with a diagnosis of first-episode psychosis (FEP), 18 relatives and 49 mental health professionals were included in the study. They completed an online survey related to the use, availability and user-skill of online platforms and apps created by a group of experts in psychosis and in the use of technologies. Data were summarized in frequencies, percentages, and means, and Chi-square tests were used to calculate differences between-groups., Results: An app directed to people with psychosis would be well received by users if it contains psychoeducational material, offers reminders for scheduled visits and treatment and allows online consultations., Conclusions: Co-creating an app with users, their families and mental health professionals allows incorporating their preferences to increase its use, improve outpatient care and creating an app that is viable in clinical practice., (© 2023 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

Stressful life events (SLE) tend to occur before the onset of psychosis, this highlights the importance of its detection and evaluation in these patients. The need to have instruments that assess SLE easily and quickly underpins the objective of this study, which is to validate a short version of the questionnaire of stressful life events (QSLE). 124 patients with first-episode psychosis and 218 healthy controls aged between 11 and 52 years were recruited. The QSLE scale underwent discrimination analysis, which revealed 18 items had good SLEs discriminability between the two samples. These 18 items were then used to create the shorter QSLE-SV. The QSLE-SV showed good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.749). An AUC of 0.830 was observed, suggesting that the predictor was good. Using 2 as the cut-off score to predict an individual as a patient would yield a sensitivity of 91.1% and a specificity of 51.6%, and using a cut-off point of 3, the sensitivity was 77.4% and the specificity was 72.5%. QSLE-SV displayed satisfactory psychometric properties in a Spanish population. The QSLE-SV allows for investigating childhood, adolescent and adult life events by measuring current stress and age on a continuous scale in a quick and easy way., (© 2023 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Background: The association between cannabis use and positive symptoms in schizophrenia spectrum disorders is well documented, especially via meta-analyses. Yet, findings are inconsistent regarding negative symptoms, while other dimensions such as disorganization, depression, and excitement, have not been investigated. In addition, meta-analyses use aggregated data discarding important confounding variables which is a source of bias., Methods: PubMed, ScienceDirect and PsycINFO were used to search for publications from inception to September 27, 2022. We contacted the authors of relevant studies to extract raw datasets and perform an Individual Participant Data meta-analysis (IPDMA). Inclusion criteria were: psychopathology of individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders assessed by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS); cannabis-users had to either have a diagnosis of cannabis use disorder or use cannabis at least twice a week. The main outcomes were the PANSS subscores extracted via the 3-factor (positive, negative and general) and 5-factor (positive, negative, disorganization, depression, excitement) structures. Preregistration is accessible via Prospero: ID CRD42022329172., Findings: Among the 1149 identified studies, 65 were eligible and 21 datasets were shared, totaling 3677 IPD and 3053 complete cases. The adjusted multivariate analysis revealed that relative to non-use, cannabis use was associated with higher severity of positive dimension (3-factor: Adjusted Mean Difference, aMD = 0.34, 95% Confidence Interval, CI = [0.03; 0.66]; 5-factor: aMD = 0.38, 95% CI = [0.08; 0.63]), lower severity of negative dimension (3-factor: aMD = -0.49, 95% CI [-0.90; -0.09]; 5-factor: aMD = -0.50, 95% CI = [-0.91; -0.08]), higher severity of excitement dimension (aMD = 0.16, 95% CI = [0.03; 0.28]). No association was found between cannabis use and disorganization (aMD = -0.13, 95% CI = [-0.42; 0.17]) or depression (aMD = -0.14, 95% CI = [-0.34; 0.06])., Interpretation: No causal relationship can be inferred from the current results. The findings could be in favor of both a detrimental and beneficial effect of cannabis on positive and negative symptoms, respectively. Longitudinal designs are needed to understand the role of cannabis is this association. The reported effect sizes are small and CIs are wide, the interpretation of findings should be taken with caution., Funding: This research did not receive any specific grant or funding. Primary financial support for authors was provided by Le Vinatier Psychiatric Hospital., Competing Interests: OA received consulting fees from Cortechs. ai, and payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from Janssen, Sunovion, Lundbeck (all to him personally). EF received consulting fees; payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events; support for attending meetings and/or travel; participation on a Data Safety Monitoring Board or Advisory Board from Boehringer-Ingelheim, Janssen, Lundbeck, Otsuka. TW received honoraria for speakership by ROVI, Janssen-Cilag, Recordati; support for participation in APA congress in 2023 by ROVI; participation on a Data Safety Monitoring Board or Advisory Board for DFG sponsored studies, NicStim, Target Flame, Early member in DSMB, member in advisory board of Otsuka/Lundbeck, Janssen-Cilag and ROVI. JA declared support for the present manuscript through payments made to the University of Calgary from NIMH, from 2008 to 2014. OA declared support for the present manuscript through payments made to institution from KG Jebsen Stiftelsen, Research Council Norway, EU H2020 and Horiz Europe, NIMH, Regional Health Authorities, and NordForsk. MS declared support for the present manuscript through initial data collection supported by Grant No. 02.001033 from the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health. RR declared support for the present manuscript from Canada First Research Excellence Fund, Grant doe Healthy Brains for Healthy Lives; Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé. No other disclosures were reported. All other authors declare no competing interests., (© 2023 The Authors.)

Patients with first-episode psychosis (FEP) report deficits in social support (SS) and diminished and less satisfactory social networks than healthy controls (HC). These SS difficulties are linked with symptomatology. The study objectives were to: (a) compare perceived SS between patients with FEP and HC; (b) study sex differences regarding perceived SS in patients with FEP and HC; and (c) explore which sociodemographic, clinical and psychosocial variables are related to perceived SS in the onset of FEP. A total of 146 participants were included: 76 patients with FEP (24 females, 52 males) and 70 HC (20 females, 50 males). Perceived SS was assessed with the DUKE-UNK instrument, which is divided into two subscales: confidant support (CS) and affective support (AS). Significant differences regarding perceived SS were observed between the samples. No sex differences were found concerning perceived SS in each group. For the group with FEP, more years of education, less anxiety/depressive symptoms and better functioning were the most relevant variables for more overall perceived SS and perceived CS. Also, less suicidal risk was the only important indicator for more perceived AS. Interventions in perceived SS could contribute to a good evolution of FEP., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Deficits in functioning affect people with first-episode psychosis. Deficits in cognitive performance are common in such individuals and appear to be related to functioning. The present study examined the relationship between the domains of cognitive performance and personal and social functioning, as well as evaluating which cognitive domains are the most closely related to personal and social functioning and whether they explain variations once other clinical and sociodemographic aspects are accounted for. Ninety-four people with first-episode psychosis participated in the study; they were assessed with the MATRICS battery. Symptoms were evaluated with the Emsley factors of the positive and negative syndrome scale. Cannabis use, duration of untreated psychosis, suicide risk, perceived stress, antipsychotic doses, and premorbid intelligence quotient was accounted for. Processing speed, attention/vigilance, working memory, visual learning, reasoning and problem solving correlated to personal and social functioning. Processing speed emerged as the strongest predictor of social and personal functioning and underscores the importance of targeting this domain in treatment. Moreover, suicide risk and excited symptoms were also significant variables in functioning. Early intervention, focusing on improvement of processing speed, may be crucial to the improvement of functioning in first-episode psychosis. The relationship of this cognitive domain with functioning in first-episode psychosis should be studied further., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Traumatic life events (TLEs) are one of the most robust environmental risk factors for the onset of first-episode psychosis (FEP)., Aims: To explore TLEs in FEP patients and healthy controls (HC), to analyze gender differences and to examine whether TLEs were associated with sociodemographic, clinical and psychofunctional variables in all FEP sample and split by age., Methods: Descriptive and cross-sectional study. Three hundred and thirty-five FEP and 253 HC were recruited at 16 Spanish mental health research centers. The Traumatic Experiences in Psychiatric Outpatients Questionnaire was administered., Results: We found a higher number of TLEs in FEP than in HC, and the proportion of individuals with three or more TLEs was significantly higher in the FEP group. No differences were found in terms of gender and age. There was no relationship between total number of TLEs and psychotic symptomatology and functional outcomes., Conclusions: The number and cumulative TLEs should be taken into account in the detection, epidemiology and process of recovery in FEP.

Aims: The "Discrimination and Stigma Scale" (DISC) was the first instrument specifically designed to evaluate reported experiences of discrimination by people with mental disorders. This study aims to validate DISC-12 version in Spanish population with Schizophrenia and, as specific objectives, to do the external validation with the Self-Stigma Questionnaire (SSQ) scale and Link PDD scale and to validate their internal consistency, temporal and inter-rater reliability., Methods: 86 individuals with schizophrenia were interviewed at two time points (between one to two weeks) by two raters. Additionally to assess their sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, following scales were administered: DISC 12, SSQ, PDD, Social Functioning Scale (SFS) and Global Assessment of Function (GAF)., Results: Internal consistency as a whole results a Cronbach a between 0.741 and 0.850. Subscales "Unfair treatmen" and "Positive treatment" have a Cronbach a higher than 0.79, but the both subscales "Stopping Self" and "Overcoming stigma" do not have in themselves an adequate consistency. Test-retest reliability shows that four subscales have values higher than 0.67. Inter-rater reliability assessment result that 21 items score values above 0.8, 10 between 0.6-0.8 and one lower than 0.6. DISC-12 was significantly related with the second factor of the PDD (self-stigma) and SSQ., Conclusions: The Spanish version of the DISC 12 scale is valid, has good internal consistency, is reliable both in terms of test-retest and inter-rater reliability and has good convergent validity with the SSQ and PDD, and the "Unfair treatment" and "Positive Treatment" subscales were the most robust of the four subscales.

Introduction: The stigma against people with mental illness is very high. In Spain there are currently no tools to assess this construct. The aim of this study was to validate the Spanish version of the Community Attitudes towards Mental Illness questionnaire in an adolescent population, and determining its internal consistency and temporal stability. Another analysis by gender will be also performed., Material and Methods: A translation and back-translation of the Community Attitudes towards Mental Illness was performed. A total of 150 students of between 14 and 18 years-old were evaluated with this tool in two stages. Internal consistency was tested using Cronbach α; and intraclass correlation coefficient was used for test-retest reliability. Gender-stratified analyses were also performed., Results: The Cronbach α was 0.861 for the first evaluation and 0.909 for the second evaluation. The values of the intraclass correlation coefficient ranged from 0.775 to 0.339 in the item by item analysis, and between 0.88 and 0.81 in the subscales. In the segmentation by gender, it was found that girls scored between 0.797 and 0.863 in the intraclass correlation coefficient, and boys scored between 0.889 and 0.774., Conclusions: In conclusion, the Community Attitudes towards Mental Illness is a reliable tool for the assessment of social stigma. Although reliable results have been found for boys and girls, our results found some gender differences in the analysis., (Copyright © 2014 SEP y SEPB. Published by Elsevier España. All rights reserved.)

Background: The aim of this study is to translate, adapt and validate the &ldquo;Perceived Devaluation and Discrimination Scale&rdquo; (PDD) in Spanish in a sample of people with schizophrenia., Method: A total of 130 people between 18 and 65 years and with a diagnosis of schizophrenia according to DSM-IV-R criteria from Barcelona and Vitoria were included. The patients were assessed with the translated version of the PDD, the Social Functioning Scale (SFS), the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF), the Clinical Global Impression Scale (CGI-S) and the Self-perception of Stigma Questionnaire for people with schizophrenia (SSQ)., Results: The questionnaire scored a Cronbach&rsquo;s a of .868 regarding its internal consistency reliability. Two components were found in the factorial analysis explaining 40% of the variance of the instrument (component 1 associated with individual self-perception and component 2 refers more to social stigma). The stability of the instrument&nbsp;&nbsp; measured using the intraclass correlation coefficient on both occasions oscillated between .415 and .806. Significant correlations were found with SSQ and SFS., Conclusions: The Spanish version of the PDD seems a good instrument for the assessment of self stigma.